In Brazil, slaves used to add scraps of pork meat to their daily ration of beans when their master threw a party.

Before, this dish was a poor peoples food. Now, Feijoada has become a tweenty-five dollar dish that only the rich seem to afford. Funny how poor people's food turns into rich people's fads as the pizza in the United States did a long time ago.

1 pound of black beans
1 pound of smoked sausage
1 lb Carne seca (sun-cured salted -beef or 1/2 pound of bacon)
1/2 lb Linguica defumada -(Portuguese sausage)
1/2 lb Chuck beef
1/2 lb Salt pork
yellow onions, diced
6 lg Cloves garlic, chopped
2 lb Raw smoked tongue
2 large bay leaves
2 cups of beef stock
3-4 tbsp. olive oil
salt
1tbls. fresh ground black pepper
1 tbls. very hot pepper sauce

Wash beans well and then leave them soaking in 1 liter of water overnight. On the next day, cook the beans and water on low heat for about an hour with the beef stock. While the beans are cooking, cut all the meats into bite size chunks, slice one onion, dice 3 cloves of garlic, put them in a pan coated with olive oil, add seasonings, and sear meats until medium rare. Once the beans are soft and the liquid is thick and flavorful add the meat mixture.

Dice the onions and the garlic. Coat frying pan with olive oil, add onions, garlic, herbs, and spices and fry the mixture until it caramelizes.

Add 2 cups of beans (which at this point should be soft) and mash them together with the fried onion mixture. Add the bay leaves(whole) and let it fry for a few minutes. Pour everything back into the beans.

Adjust the seasonings in the pot of beans and add black pepper and hot pepper sauce. Serve Feijoada with braised pork loin, grilled chicken, or steak, collards, onions in sauce (recipes below), sweetened orange slices, and hot rice.

Serves 5 with beer or caipirinha.